24 hours Munich

Let’s say it’s a day off for me, on the weekend. Since I rarely have time between jobs to meet friends, I try to make as much of my free time as possible. I love to start the day by having breakfast with friends and we often choose to go to the White Rabbit’s Room in Haidhausen (only with girlfriends, though – it’s very girly) and have a warm cinnamon bun or pancakes there. I also love Bite Delite for a healthy breakfast (maybe on the go), Daddy Longlegs for acai bowls, or the Gartensalon in the Maxvorstadt.

Now I feel like some shopping and checking out stores. I love the Maxvorstadt, the district around the university. There’s a ton of restaurants and shops I love to go to here. I always find something whenever I visit the stores Kauf dich Glücklich and Edited, but the shop I can also never pass by is Pick and Weight, a vintage store where you pay by weight. It has a huge collection of every kind of vintage clothing, sorted by colour. If you really dig deep, you can find amazing vintage Levi’s jeans and Dolce & Gabbana shoes.

On a warm summer’s day I might treat myself to a scoop of ice cream at Der verrückte Eismacher (they have the craziest flavours of ice cream, like beer or sausage) or a fresh green smoothie from Super Danke!. More sweet treats can be had at the café and pâtisserie Maelu, where every cake is a piece of art in itself. Urban Soup is another little favourite of mine, and has been instrumental in keeping up my energy when power-shopping.

If I’m still up for fashion-hunting, I take a tram ride to the Stachus and stop by The Storey, which is a new shop in the basement of the department store Oberpollinger, where you can find a lot of super cool brands like Ganni, Topshop, The Kooples and more. Stylish men are in good hands here, too.

Nearby you can find the high-class shopping area Luitpoldblock, with stores like Schwittenberg, Aesop or Acne, which are also totally my kind of style.

Shopping madness is over now, I promise. We can have a proper lunch at Gratitude, a fantastic vegan restaurant, or at Occam Deli, which has the most delicious homemade cakes in town.

The best thing about Sundays spent in Munich: The entrance fee for most of the museums is only €1,-. That means Sunday afternoons are devoted to art and culture. Munich is quite renowned for a lot of different museums, which always host great exhibitions. I love going to the Museum Brandhorst, the Pinakothek der Moderne or the Haus der Kunst. There are so many different art periods to experience and to be inspired by, it’s just great!

Before ending my special day, I need to recharge my battery, which means going home or rambling around the neighbourhood where I live, the beautiful district of Haidhausen. This is the French area of Munich, with charming old streets and buildings. I honestly can’t describe how much I love walking around this area. The square Weißenburger Platz, which is right on my doorstep, is always decorated with the brightest and most colourful flowers in the summer months; in the winter, you can find a very cute Christmas market here. A few steps further down the road is the square Bordeauxplatz, where I often sit down at my favourite coffee shop and pâtisserie, the café Noel. My stroll is followed up by my very own favourite tradition: on warm summer days I walk up to the palatial building Maximilianeum, which is a 10 min walk from home, and sit down at the top of the driveway. I enjoy the best view over the city from here, along with the very last rays of sunshine, when the rest of the city is already in the shade.

After the sun has gone down, I’m back in the university district. I like to meet up with friends for some cocktails at James T. Hunt, a cool bar which has a very good selection of its own creations and is quite fashionable. A good alternative is Don’t Call Mama, just across the street.

If I feel more like a fancy dinner, it’s the Spicery for me – a truly fantastic Thai restaurant in Haidhausen – or the restaurant L’Adresse 37, a French gem in the Westend district.

To round off my perfect day with good music and drinks, I make my way to the culture hub Bahnwärter Thiel, a very unusual location for Munich, and hope for one of the cool indie concerts. This place is quite alternative and very unique, as it’s built out of old shipping containers.

So you see, Munich has a lot of different facets, if you are prepared to look for them. Stay curious!